# PhotoCraft Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/photocraft/ 16 people recommended PhotoCraft in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 13 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 12 months, in 14 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free, fast Photoshop alternative with native PSD support that handles simple edits well. Critics say it is buggy and not yet a full replacement. Summary written by Claude from 33 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 32 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Opens and runs very fast (3 comments in the sample): "when I tried Photocraft it opened in like a second" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50052754)) "absurdly fast compared to the molasses originals" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49976304)) "its faster and does everything I need it to do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50234179)) - Photoshop-like features for free (3 comments in the sample): "90% of Photoshop for free with native PSD and lower system requirements is a win" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50158048)) "Photocraft looks much more complete in terms of typical Photoshop features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49981939)) "Photocraft is near parity for day to day use." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50065582)) - Handles simple edits well (3 comments in the sample): "But for the simple edits I need to do, it is more than adequate." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50234426)) "It works relatively well in native mode as a standalone app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50068781)) "my super basic usecases in photocraft mostly worked" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50051935)) - Simple, focused, no sign-up (2 comments in the sample): "No sign-up, dialog boxes, licensing agreement." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49960226)) "things work the way I expect them to work" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50001039)) ## What people warn about - Not a full Photoshop replacement (3 comments in the sample): "It's not an ideal replacement as of yet, but the writing is in the wall" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235681)) "an LLM based vibe-code app is no adobe alternative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49993900)) "it was garbage, not even close to a replacement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50234198)) - Buggy and crashes often (3 comments in the sample): "really everything is buggy, a lot of options and buttons make the whole thing crash" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50050813)) "It’s completely broken and was dead on arrival." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50234208)) "And literally nothing works." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49960138)) - Missing RAW and clipboard paste (2 comments in the sample): "Photocraft doesn't even offer RAW processing, it just dumps the raster straight in." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49981942)) "I've just tried PhotoCraft and couldn't paste an image from the clipboard." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49982228)) - Clean-room claim and AI code doubted (2 comments in the sample): "this one particular didn't even look at the code they claim it to be clean room implementation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49996708)) "Oh it's even hallucinating a non-existing FreeBSD version. Perfect slop." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49989702)) ## Other image editors people recommend - [GIMP](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gimp/): 100 recommend, 62 mixed, 190 criticize - [Photopea](https://hackerapproved.com/p/photopea/): 73 recommend, 9 mixed, 12 criticize - [Adobe Photoshop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-photoshop/): 69 recommend, 65 mixed, 167 criticize - [Affinity Photo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/affinity/): 54 recommend, 22 mixed, 36 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "PhotoCraft", https://hackerapproved.com/p/photocraft/ (16 recommend, 5 mixed, 13 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.